


You Have One New Notification

by emAvox



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Graves doesn't save Avery, Hayes doesn't answer his phone, Hayes is brave, Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 22:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13199547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emAvox/pseuds/emAvox
Summary: Graves doesn't save Avery. Hayes doesn't answer his phone. Nacht likes to play with his food.





	You Have One New Notification

**Author's Note:**

> When there is very little content, you must make your own! I'm kind of in love with this game. The premise: Graves decides to save everyone else over Avery (kind of a Queen's Sacrifice situation here folks) and Hayes doesn't answer Avery's call. Please let me know if I've made any mistakes or if you would like a similar scenario with different LI's. Sorry if this seems OOC or unrealistic but I imagine that Nacht likes to play with his food (Handsome Jack from the Borderlands series was an inspiration) and I needed ANGST.  
> Un-beta'ed so read at your own discretion.

Hayes was halfway to his apartment when he heard someone say _get to the cafe now_. After whipping his head around in panic, he realized that he was alone on the street. The voice had echoed in his head rather than his ears, and it had sounded like Graves. After a brief hesitation, he turned and ran. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it, legs eating up the distance as he raced to his destination.

  
  


Hayes met the others at the front doors as Finley frantically tried to shove her key into the lock. After jiggling the handle a few times the door opened and the group poured into the cafe, startling a few cats who darted away.

 

“Graves!” Reese shouted. There was no response. “What happened?”

 

Landry and Finley hovered by the circular sofa in the middle of the room as they talked rapidly. Mason, for the first time Hayes had ever seen, looked uncertain. Her eyes kept darting over the others like a mother counting her young, over and over. She kept recounting like the numbers weren’t adding up correctly. Hayes' body shifted forward as he went to take a step but caught himself. His mouth opened silently as he counted. 1… 3… 4 and 5.

 

Avery and Graves were missing.

 

Reese circled back to Hayes and Mason once he finally stopped shouting toward the third floor, puffed up as though he was still in his cat form.

 

“Where is he?” he demanded as if Hayes and Mason were withholding information. When they didn’t respond he ground out, “I knew it! I knew he was going to get in over his head! I--”

 

The bell on the front door jingled and everyone’s conversations stopped immediately as they turned to watch Graves step inside without any of his usual flourish.

 

“Everyone is here,” he began with no explanation. “Wonderful. Landry and Finley, corral the cats and put them in the basement, Dracula included. Mason, block the back door.”

Without speaking, Mason slipped into the kitchen. Landry and Finley exchanged a look but went about their task without protest.

 

Graves turned to his assistant manager. “Reese, I need you to-”

 

Hayes cut him off, insides trembling with fear and anxiety as he spoke. He stared his boss down with eyes that pleaded for the truth.

 

“Graves?” he asked. “Where’s Avery?”

 

Graves spared him a glance. “I’m afraid that Avery has been indisposed.”

 

Hayes' ears roared. _Indisposed?_

 

Reese echoed his inner thoughts as he said, “Indisposed? The hell does that mean?”

 

Mason, who had returned to the cafe proper after some horrifying screeching noises in the kitchen, asked: “They okay?”

 

“No.” Graves replied simply, with a shadow of regret passing over his features. “They are currently a pile of rust. But they can be saved.”

 

“ _I told you_ ,” Reese hissed into the shocked silence, winding up for a heated lecture.

 

“Yes, yes.” Graves said impatiently. “You were right and we have suffered for it. Now, will you help me save your friend or will you waste time berating me and get us all killed?”

 

“Like how you got Avery killed?” Reese bit back sullenly.

 

Hayes was no longer listening, having stumbled back to the couch and slumped into the cushions. He curled inward to protect himself from the barrage of thoughts assaulting him, eyes wide as he stared at the fabric covering his knees. His fingers tangled themselves in his hair and tightened.

 

 _they’re rust they’re dead they’re_ **_dead_ ** _they were alone i should have been with them did they call for help i wasn’t there i left them alone i could have saved them i abandoned them were they scared did they call me oh god the phone_

 

The phone. His phone had been ringing as he ran to the cafe. That thought alone jolted Hayes out of his own head and had him scrambling for his front pocket. As he pulled it out it vibrated in his hand as the small notification light flashed.

 

**One Missed Call - Avery**

**New Voicemail**

  


Distantly Hayes could hear Graves speaking to the others while they stood around him. He felt gazes heavy on his shoulders but did not look up, curling around his phone as he entered his voicemail pin.

 

“ _You have one unheard message. First message.”_

 

The audio quality was fuzzy but Hayes could hear Avery sobbing, their voice straining to contain a scream. “ _\--ayes, Hayes! Oh, God! Please!”_

 

Hayes heard shifting gravel and a rhythmic, metallic banging. Avery’s voice was near unintelligible with panic. “ _Hayes, I love you so much! I’m sorry --_ ”

 

There was a much louder bang and Avery screamed. “ _PLEASE NO --_ ”

 

Another bang. Silence. The lenses of Hayes' glasses were covered in tears as he clapped a hand over his mouth in horror. His body shook. He could not move.

 

“ _End of message.”_

 

Hayes sat with the line open for so long that the system chirped _Good-bye!_ and hung up on him. The last thing Hayes had said to Avery was “Um! Bye!” How could he have let them go without telling them he loved them?

 

Hayes drew the phone to his chest, gently beginning to rock as the noise in his head built to an intolerable level. His chest felt tight. He couldn’t breathe. Oh, God, Avery was dead. _Avery is dead because of me this is my fault_ \---

 

Hands touched Hayes on the back, trying to comfort, but he just retreated further into himself. _Leave me alone_ , he thought. _Please just leave me alone_. He felt hollow. Graves low voice drew Hayes' attention despite his best efforts to remain locked within his own head.

 

“Reese, if you would please give your peers a few lessons on m-” The older man coughed. “On finding their knack. Hayes needs no assistance.”

 

Reese drew the others over to a table in the corner. He asked suddenly as if remembering, “Graves, what about the book?”

 

“Ah.” Graves sighed. “I believe that it was in Avery’s possession before this entire ordeal. We shall have to do without.”

 

Reese said something in reply but Hayes stopped listening, choosing instead to step back into the safety of his own mind. _White hair, soft smiles, Avery, Avery, Avery_.

  
  


Hours later, Hayes emerged from his own head back into reality. He looked over at his friends in time to see Mason snuff out an open flame which she had held in her palm. Reese looked begrudgingly impressed while Finley openly gawked. Landry seemed distracted but was the first to notice Hayes.

 

“Hayes,” he said softly. “How are you feeling?”

 

The others immediately shifted their attention and got up, abandoning their magical crash course much to Reese’s consternation. It seemed that in an instant they were around him on the couch, not hovering but offering their presence in solidarity. Reese sought out Graves, who had appeared from upstairs, to discuss something.

 

Something hit the glass door and clattered to the pavement, drawing the attention of the cafe’s inhabitants. Graves continued talking at Reese, who was no longer listening as he stared out of the cafe and into the street beyond. Hayes barely had to look before he identified the hunk of rust on the sidewalk as Avery’s cellphone, the shape of its hanging cat charm clear as day. He looked up through the haze of loss and saw movement beyond the large windows of the cafe’s front. A man stood across the street with something tucked under his arm and a bat in one hand which he leaned on like a cane. Graves had noticed both Hayes' and Reese’s distraction and turned in time for the man to toss the bundle under his arm to the ground, directly under the hazy light of the street lamp. The impact echoed like a gunshot.

 

“Oh, Jesus,” Finley said bleakly.

 

Mason closed her eyes, Landry’s hands flew up to his mouth, and Reese let out a choked sound like he had been punched in the gut. Hayes and Graves were silent. Graves stepped forward and out of the cafe, the bell chiming softly. Hayes stared at the rusted body of his partner, numb.

 

Avery’s body shivered as it landed prone on the street before stilling, looking to all the world like a sculpture left unattended in the rain. One of their ankles was twisted as if broken. Both of their hands were raised protectively as if to defend against a blow. Hayes' view was blocked suddenly by Graves.

 

The older man stood squarely in front of the cafe’s main doors, cane in hand. In one swift move, he pulled it apart, unsheathing a sword. The stranger grinned maliciously from under the streetlight, rolling his wrist and twirling his baseball bat in small circles.

 

“You haven’t changed a bit, Nacht.” Graves said, his voice muffled from within the cafe. “Still pushing around the weak to excuse your own malfeasance.”

 

“Ha ha ha!” The man, Nacht, laughed. His smile bared white teeth and they gleaned dangerously. “And here you come, acting like you ain’t got anything to do with it. Gonna get me all nostalgic, old man!”

 

Hayes stood, and as he did he could see Graves’ hand tighten around the handle of his blade. “You thought to go after the child rather than facing me, your true opponent?”

 

“Meant to get directions from the kid but they ran. Then I thought I’d just send a message but you never showed up! Poor little kitten rusted over screaming for help.” Nacht prowled closer, arms loose and ready to swing.

 

Nacht looked past Graves and into the cafe. “Got a kid in there named _Hayes_?”

 

Mason said, “Stop.” Only then did Hayes realize that he had crossed the room to the cafe doors. A hand was bunched up in the back of his sweatshirt, holding him firmly in place. Hands were tightly grabbing his arms as he struggled unconsciously. That **bastard**.

 

“I would thank you,” Graves drawled, “to stop antagonizing my employees.”

 

Nacht ignored him, focusing on Hayes. “You their friend? They were calling for you and you didn’t even bother to help. Must not like ‘em very much.”

 

Hayes exploded. He began clawing for the door, actively fighting his friends as they held him back in the safety of the cafe. “ _Let me go_ ,” he snarled, a fire in his eyes. No one released him, despite Reese’s shocked “Dude, what the fuck?”

 

“Enough.” Graves drew Nacht’s attention away from the people in the cafe. “One of my employees is frozen in rust. You’ll excuse me if I would like to get this over with as soon as possible.”

 

Nacht laughed mockingly. “If you just Give it to me I’ll let the little tyke go, no sweat.”

 

Graves did not reply, only shifted onto the balls of his feet as he ignored the commotion in the cafe behind him.

 

“Aw, Graves!” Nacht said. “You know me! I got nothin’ against makin’ arrangements. I’m not such’a bad guy, y’know? Think it’s too bad we’re seein’ this from opposite sides.”

 

Graves maintained his silence, much to Nacht’s amusement. The two men began to move closer together, testing the waters as much as they could without entering open combat.

 

Nacht continued monologuing, mocking. “More’s the pity, as they say. The kid’s sweetie over there don’t seem the fightin’ type, but he looks fit to jump me if somethin’ happens. Now I’ll tell ya: I’m gonna do whatever I gotta, but I’m not keen on rustin’ someone that _pretty_.”

 

From over Hayes' shoulder, Landry said “ **fuck** this guy” and everyone piled out of the cafe to stand at Graves back. The older man’s shoulders stiffened as he heard them exit the building. Hayes and the others stood shoulder to shoulder, their stances varying in form, but all of them ready to fight nonetheless.

 

Hayes' insides shivered in fear as he spoke up, fists clenched and arms trembling. “J-just, just try it. I know magic, too.”

 

Time froze for a moment as Nacht focused on Hayes again; the man seemed much more intimidating now that the door was no longer between them as a facade of safety.

 

“That right?” Nacht smiled. “Think your friend knew some’a that too.”

 

The street was silent. In the distance cars rumbled along, trains whistled past, and late night wanderers went on their way. A Cat’s Paw and its crew prepared to make a final stand against an enemy witch while the world continued on, ignorant of the danger.

 

Nacht broke the silence first. “Ha ha. Naturally, my point is en garde.”

 

He rushed forward and met Graves, crossing weapons. Graves’s sword shattered under the power behind Nacht’s swing and the witch stumbled. Nacht planted a hand on his chest and shoved him away, leaving a rusty handprint that wriggled as its tendrils hungrily ate up the fabric of Graves’s shirt.

 

“ _Graves!_ ” Reese called as he rushed off, breaking the line.

 

“Stay back!” Graves coughed as he straightened. Reese ignored him.

 

Pulling a marker out of his pocket and uncapping it, Reese drew a shape in the air. A lion? The creature stretched a bit and let out what should have been a roar but sounded more like Hash Browns.

 

Nacht’s bat crashed right through it, shattering Reese’s creation with ease before grabbing him. Reese reared back but Nacht was still able to get a solid grasp on his wrist. Rust spread quickly.

 

“Aw,” Nacht crooned. “Little Reesie-- _ow!_ ” Reese’s marker had sharpened to a point and stuck out of Nacht’s hand.

 

“You little shit!” the older man laughed. He tugged the marker out with his teeth and spat it out. He threw Reese to the ground roughly.

 

Reese hollered, “You asshole! Fuck you!” He tugged at his arm repeatedly but it remained rusted to the ground.

 

Nacht ignored him and smiled, all teeth. “Who’s next, kids?”

 

“Everyone,” Graves pleaded hoarsely, trying to contain the rust on his own body. His knees had buckled underneath him but he struggled to regain his footing. “Please just--”

 

_Ping!_

 

Hayes ducked instinctively at the noise, despite the fact that he had not been the intended target for the rusty projectile flying through the air. Landry had been caught attempting to circle around the back of the fight and Nacht had stuck his wrist to the shuttered storefront across the street.

 

“ _No!_ ” Landry exploded, kicking viciously at the metal window coverings in an attempt to wrench himself free. Hayes had never seen him so angry- had never seen him angry at all. “ _Fuck! God fucking_ \--”

 

“Language, kiddo,” Nacht said as he rolled his bat in his hand. His eyes roamed over the last of the group: only Hayes, Mason, and Finley remained untouched. Finley had rushed toward Reese when he had fallen but was now pinned underneath Nacht’s gaze, away from the relative safety of the group. Nacht took one step in Finley’s direction before Mason was suddenly in front of him, socking him directly in the face with a fiery punch.

 

“Don’t touch her,” Mason growled, ignoring the rust on her fist which crawled up her arm and smothered her flames. Finley raced back over to Hayes and they huddled together.

 

“Motherf--” Nacht choked, clutching at his face with one hand. “Damn, Graves, didn’t you teach these kids any manners?” He looked up with blood dripping down his face.

 

Mason dove at the older witch, using her rusted arm as a weapon. Nacht barely dodged out of the way in time. Landry gave one final aggravated cry before his face rusted over.

 

“Hayes,” Finley said desperately. Her eyes were wide but unafraid. “I don’t have magic, I can’t do anything!”

 

Hayes thought back to the first moment when he just knew who Avery could be to him. A softly-laid hand gently squeezing his shoulder in reassurance. Hayes had looked up and that smile… It was a beginning that Hayes hadn’t imagined for himself. Avery’s power was in action, in doing good for others, and maybe those actions could empower Hayes' words.

 

Nacht swung his bat at Mason’s face and she pulled back in time for it to cut the air just in front of her nose. Finley bristled and jumped into the fray, kicking the back of his knee so that his leg gave out.

 

Hayes took a step closer to the dueling witches, on edge but burning with anger and loss. He breathed in, imagining Avery at his side, their hand on his shoulder.

 

“A bat!”

 

_A kiss. A photo._

 

“Rusted away--”

 

_A cat in a tree._

 

“Falls from assailants hands--”

 

_A poem on a cafe napkin._

 

“He can’t seem to pick it back up--”

 

_Kisses and hugs and hands carding through hair, gentle, always so gentle._

 

“It’s stuck.” Hayes' voice rang through the chaos.

 

“I’ll be damned.” Nacht snarled as his bat clattered to the asphalt. He made no move to pick it up as he tossed Finley aside like a doll. “One’a those, huh?”

 

He prowled back a few steps, starting to circle Mason. “Ain’t no matter. Changes things a bit, that’s all.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Reese sneered despite the rust crawling up his neck. “Aren’t ya gonna pick it up?”

 

Nacht didn’t spare him a glance. “You heard the man, kitten. Couldn’t if I tried.”

 

Graves stumbled back toward the conflict, eyes clouded with pain as he clutched at his chest, green light glowing from his palms. Mason swung at Nacht again, but this time Nacht caught her rusted arms. He swung and tossed her over his shoulder. She and Graves collided and they went down in a jumble of limbs, though she made sure to keep the rust away from him.

 

Hayes swallowed as Nacht snapped his attention back. The older man wasted no time in stalking over and hauling Hayes up by the collar. Nacht smiled viciously as he leaned in, rust crawling from under his fingertips. Finley struggled to her feet.

 

“You make magic with your voice, yeah?” The rust was cold, no one had told him it would be cold. “What d’you suppose’d happen if I put my hands ‘round your neck? Stuck a finger in your mouth? Would make a real great joke, don’tcha think?”

 

Finley seemed to appear from nowhere, throwing her arms around Nacht’s grip on Hayes and dropping her body weight to rip the older man’s arms away. The witch tried to shove her away but she refused to budge and ignored the magic. Mason was on her feet again.

 

“Hayes!” she cried. “A poem! Please!!”

 

“I hear that verse can dissolve rust,” Hayes spat hurriedly. Finley and Nacht continued to scuffle. Mason, rusted from neck to waist, dropped her shoulder and plowed into the man.

 

“I understand that’s no small feat-” Graves was standing, murder in his eyes as he started to shamble over.

 

“Within my magic I entrust-” Nacht tossed Finley again, this time in Hayes' direction. The barista caught her in his arms and realized his mistake as his hands began to rust to her shoulders. Mason snarled as Nacht dodged her, the rust stiffening around her hips. She could barely move.

 

“This witch of rust, I will defeat!” Hayes was shouting now. “Let my words become like acid, corrode away and rust remove!”

 

Mason had frozen in place. Nacht smiled and lunged at Hayes and Finley, who jerked away together, stuck as they were. Finley began to lag as the rust crawled over her face.

 

“Friends and comrades returned placid, return to them the will to move!” Finley’s weight dropped on Hayes' rusted hands as she fell. His knees gave out and they hit the hard asphalt. Nacht loomed.

 

“Away, away, the rust will fall, stripping bare Nacht’s wherewithal.” Hayes uttered as his jaw began to stiffen with rust. _Please work_ , he thought deliriously. _Please_.

 

“Tch!” Nacht stopped suddenly. Hayes' hands popped off of Finley’s shoulders as the girl struggled out of her rust prison. “It ain’t even good.”

 

“You never realized that quality isn’t quintessential. Magic is in the conviction with which you speak such verses.” Graves stepped forward, rust flaking off of his shirt and drifting to the ground like snow. “For some, perhaps even you, the crudest verses would do.”

 

Rolling his shoulders, Graves followed Nacht’s backward retreat. The other man looked around in something like a panic as the others began to move. “But you’ve always been terribly impatient with rhymes, haven’t you?”

 

Reese, Landry, and Mason shed their rust like a second skin. Hayes only had eyes for Avery. Free from Finley, Hayes sprinted forward as the rust around Avery crumbled and drifted off on an invisible wind. The instant they were free, Avery began frantically clawing away from Nacht’s still form, pinned as he was under Graves’s eyes. Hayes was on them in an instant, and the face that turned to greet him was bloodless and frozen in terror, wide eyes with the violet irises almost wholly swallowed by pupils. Avery didn’t speak when Hayes swept them into his arms, only clutched at Hayes so tightly that he could feel bruises forming. Neither of them relaxed their grip. Avery’s claw-like fingers seemed to be trying to pull Hayes into them as Avery curled into their boyfriend.

 

“It’s going to be okay.” Hayes rambled, unconsciously repeating Avery’s own words during Hayes' bouts of panic. “Just take deep breaths, in and out. Remember? Like you told me. I’m right here, it’s okay, I’m here. Breathe with me, in and out. I-I, it’s… um...”

 

The adrenaline which had flooded his system abruptly left him, and Hayes began to shake in time with Avery as the reality of the situation caught up with him. He had just _battled a witch_. _What the fuck_ , he thought deliriously. _What the_ **_fuck_** _, we all could have_ **_died_**. Graves was talking in the background but Hayes ignored him.

 

Avery was huddled into his chest, half sprawled in his lap. Hayes held them there with one arm along their back, the other hand smoothing their hair and tucking their head closer and under his chin. Avery shook like Hayes was the only thing keeping them from flying apart, and Hayes shook in much the same way. One of Avery’s hands released its death grip on Hayes' back to tangle firmly in his hair. The short, sharp breaths they had been pulling in relaxed to a small degree.

 

“I’m okay now.” Avery choked out as their breath rattled in their chest. “Okay? We’re both okay.”

 

“But… but Avery, are you hurt?” Hayes stammered. “I… that’s not…”

 

“If…” Avery choked on a sob and curled closer, voice hitching with emotion. “If I gotta take deep breaths, you do too. Just breathe.”

 

And then they were both crying.

 

“Avery, I’m sorry.” Hayes rounded his shoulders to protect his partner from further harm, a barrier. “I- I should have walked you home--”

 

“It’s not your fault!” Avery cried. “You saved me, you--” They buried their face in Hayes' neck and tears wetted his skin as they gently rocked together. “Please don’t leave me. Just give me a minute like this.”

 

“Anything,” Hayes said. “Anything.”

  
  


Graves could turn Nacht into a cat for all he cared.

  
  


Hayes ended up carrying Avery home on his back. Avery was silent the entire time and rested their head on Hayes' shoulder as he walked. Mochi was waiting for them at the door, meowing loudly in protest at his lack of food.

 

“Just a minute, Mochi,” Hayes whispered. Was Avery asleep?

 

“Hayes.” They said softly.

 

“Avery?” Hayes asked, surprised. He was sure that they had fallen asleep. “Are you awake?”

 

Avery nodded against the back of his neck. “My ankle hurts.”

 

“I can wrap it up,” Hayes said as he walked to the couch. “And then I’ll feed Mochi.”

 

"Mow." Mochi said.

 

Avery’s breath hitched in pain as they settled into the fabric, wincing. “The first aid kit is in the bathroom.”

 

Hayes nodded and ducked away, coming back moments later. He kneeled in front of Avery and wrapped their ankle quickly but gently.

 

“Where did you learn to do this?” Avery rasped.

 

Hayes looked up briefly before pinning the bandage in place. “Ah… I studied in scouts. Injuries and things don’t bother me. Never have. Not everything makes me feel anxious. Ha ha.”

 

“ ** _MOW!_** ”

 

Hayes jumped. “Ah! Sorry, Mochi!”

 

After feeding the cat Hayes turned back to see Avery watching him from over the back of the couch. He flushed under their gaze.

 

“What, uh, what is it?” he stammered, but Avery just smiled. They looked tired.

 

Hayes rounded the couch after quickly filling a bag with ice and sat next to them gently. He settled Avery’s ankle on the coffee table for elevation and sat the ice on top. Avery sighed in relief. Hayes looked down and his fingers tightened on the green fabric. His gaze darted over only to see Avery continuing to stare.

 

Once they knew they’d caught Hayes' attention Avery said softly, “Thank you for taking care of me, Doctor Hayes.”

 

Hayes stammered again, blushing furiously as Avery leaned forward to kiss him. Still grasping the couch tightly, knuckles white, Hayes kissed back before fully surging forward. He grasped Avery’s face between his hands as Avery grabbed fistfuls of Hayes' sweatshirt.

 

“You’re okay,” Hayes said desperately between kisses. “You’re okay. We’re okay.”

 

“We’re okay,” Avery said back fervently.

 

“It’s just you and me.” They said.

 

“We’re going to be alright,” Hayes said.

 

“I love you.” They both said.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to combine aspects from different routes in this one-- Avery is such a pivotal character in the game that I imagined it would be a lot harder on the group if they had been rusted rather than Graves (minus Reese who arguably cares about Graves more than himself). Also, all of these kids are self-sacrificing idiots but damn it, that's THEIR friend to rust!
> 
> Hit me up at tvnnelsnake.tumblr.com if you'd like to talk about the game or this fic!


End file.
